Axed AFL player Elijah Taylor receives spent conviction over ex-girlfriend's assault
Axed Sydney Swans AFL player Elijah Taylor has been spared jail and issued a spent conviction after he assaulted his ex-girlfriend at a Perth hotel.
During the mid-September attack, Taylor struck Lekahni Pearce with a belt and punched her in the back of the head. The 19-year-old footballer pleaded guilty in Perth magistrates court to unlawfully assaulting Pearce and causing her bodily harm.
The court heard the pair had bumped into each other at a nightclub before returning to Taylor’s hotel room. Taylor subsequently woke to find Pearce punching him after she had discovered a Snapchat message from a third party on his phone.
Taylor responded by punching Pearce in the jaw and hitting her several times in the face, according to a statement of facts tendered by police prosecutors. The former Swans player, who has been on bail since his arrest, then struck her with a belt while she screamed out in pain, crying for him to stop.
When Pearce said she was going to the police, Taylor punched her in the back of the head, causing her to fall to the floor, the facts state.
Taylor played four senior matches in his debut AFL season but was suspended in August for breaking strict quarantine protocols in Perth. He was stood down from all football duties by the Swans in September after he was charged by Western Australia police.
The court heard Pearce had approached prosecutors before the sentence hearing seeking to have the charge withdrawn.
Taylor’s lawyer, Seamus Rafferty, on Wednesday asked the court to issue a fine and spent conviction, citing his client’s youth, remorse and previous clean record. The request was not opposed by prosecutors.
Rafferty said Taylor had experienced “frustration, sadness and sense of powerlessness” after being suspended by his club which had resulted in an emotional outburst and a loss of self-control.
He said Pearce had suffered a miscarriage prior to Taylor’s arrival in Perth and that he had breached quarantine because he had wanted to comfort her. The magistrate, Deen Potter, granted the request for a spent conviction and handed Taylor a $5,000 fine. A spent conviction in WA is the same as having no conviction recorded in other jurisdictions.
“Clearly you have character of some strength, so hopefully this incident on 13 September will not define who you are,” he told Taylor.
Rafferty said Taylor intended to move to Victoria and play in the VFL in the hopes of one day returning to the highest level. He said Taylor had been “pilloried” by the media, the AFL and even the WA premier, Mark McGowan.
“Nobody knew the real reason underpinning why he did what he did,” he said.
He also took aim at the Swans, accusing them of leaving Taylor to fend for himself in Perth when he was suspended. “There was no welfare, there was no assistance, there was nothing,” the lawyer said.
The Swans this week announced they had cut Taylor from their list after consulting the AFL, the players’ association and Taylor’s management. The club’s decision was backed by the AFL.